By Alex Blake, Education Officer, Holocaust Memorial Day Trust
Holocaust Memorial Day (HMD) takes place on 27 January every year. Thousands of organisations and schools around the country take part in activities to learn about genocides and those affected by them, and consider what we can do as individuals to make the world a safer place for everyone. The theme for HMD 2023 is Ordinary People.
HMD provides schools with a rare opportunity to support the History curriculum’s Holocaust content with a broader understanding of genocides around the world. HMD commemorates the Holocaust, Nazi persecution of non-Jewish groups, and genocides that have happened since in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia and Darfur. It also supports the curriculum by becoming an annual touchpoint for students to develop further understanding of the topic year by year.
At Holocaust Memorial Day Trust (HMDT), our aim is that after engaging with HMD students will know more about the history of these events, feel a connection to individuals affected by them, and be motivated to do something as a result of what they have learned.
Below are a few examples from our large collection of free learning resources that help you mark HMD 2023 and explore the Ordinary People theme with your students. You can download these and other materials at www.hmd.org.uk/schools.
New for HMD 2023 we have created a short version of the UK Online Commemoration film, suitable for screening at local HMD activities. Perfect for assemblies, this 20-minute film will set the scene as we hear testimony from Holocaust and genocide survivors about their experiences.
- Download the film for free here: hmd.org.uk/ordinarypeoplefilm
This year HMDT partnered with The Royal Drawing School and asked young people across the UK to learn about someone affected by the Holocaust, genocide or identity-based persecution and create a portrait of them.
Know – Students will learn about a real person who was persecuted because of their identity.
Feel – Students will connect with this person and their history, and express their emotional reaction through their artwork.
Do – Students can share their artwork online or in a local display or exhibition to help raise awareness of these issues.
Ordinary Objects, Extraordinary Journeys
This brand-new Holocaust education website was created by HMDT and the National Holocaust Centre and Museum, with the Jewish Museum in Greece. It features four individuals targeted during the Holocaust, their objects and their journeys. Some of the objects have been photographed in 3D so students can view them from all angles, and the site features maps, photographs, video clips and more.
- We have a resource to support schools to use this in the classroom for HMD.
Know – Students will learn about the Holocaust through the personal stories, objects and journeys of four people targeted.
Feel – The stories and objects give students an insight into those targeted as real people with families, hobbies and dreams.
Do – Students can follow up their learning from the website by learning about the objects refugees carry when they have to flee their homes today.
- There are many more free learning resources available at www.hmd.org.uk/schools, for primary, secondary and SEND students.
If you are taking part in HMD please tell us about your activity by adding your school to the HMD map at www.hmd.org.uk/letusknow, or emailing education@hmd.org.uk.
